Financial merger in the works

Wall Street Report

June 2, 2009

A Casselberry-based bank-organizing group has signed a multimillion-dollar deal to merge with Partners Bank of Naples, the companies said Monday. Terms of the merger call for Semoran Financial Corp. to acquire Partners Financial, parent of Partners Bank, a savings and loan that has two branches in the Naples market. The proposed merger is subject to the approval of the federal Office of Thrift Supervision. If it clears regulatory review, the deal would boost Semoran Financial's efforts to launch a startup bank in Central Florida. Malcolm Macdiarmid, Semoran's executive vice president and lead organizer, said the group has raised more than $5 million toward the merger.

Delphi reaches deal to exit Chapter 11

Delphi Corp. said Monday that it reached a deal to sell some of its assets to a private-equity firm and emerge from bankruptcy protection. Parnassus Holdings II LLC, an affiliate of Platinum Equity, will operate Delphi's businesses both in the U.S. and abroad with about $3.6 billion in emergence capital and capital commitments. In addition, the Troy, Mich.-based company's former parent, Detroit-based General Motors Corp., will acquire some of the company's North American plants, including its global steering business. Other "noncore" plants and assets will be sold off over time.

Deere names new chief executive

Deere & Co., the world's largest farm equipment maker, on Monday named Samuel R. Allen to succeed Robert W. Lane as the company's chief executive. Allen, 55, becomes only the ninth chief executive to lead the 172-year-old company known for its green-and-yellow tractors and harvesting machines. He moves into the job Aug. 1, when Lane, 59, steps down after nine years at the helm. The Moline, Ill.-based company in May reported a 38 percent drop in second-quarter profit as farmers and other customers cut spending on tractors, mowers and construction equipment. It also slashed its profit forecast for the second time this year.